Guest column: Intervention, accountability go hand in hand

May 22, 2009 5:04 PM

HELP AVAILABLE

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals' Office for Addictive Disorders provides a number of different prevention and treatment services for drug, alcohol and gambling-related problems through a network of facilities and programs across the state. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about treatment options for yourself or someone you know, call the state's hotline, 1-877-664-2248, or visit www.addictionsla.org.

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Alcohol abuse is a significant problem in our state, and we often make a lot of assumptions about people who abuse alcohol. Many of those assumptions are wrong, and can lead to stigmatizing people who abuse alcohol. The stigma of alcoholism being a "moral weakness," for example, often contributes to individuals not seeking treatment.

In truth, alcoholism is a health care issue, the same as any other illness. As with all illnesses, it is much better to treat alcoholism early. Unfortunately, the way that this illness often comes to light is through a first-offense DUI, at which point it also becomes a public safety or criminal justice issue.

The most effective intervention for first-time DUI offenders must be an assessment to determine the severity of the alcohol abuse problem. The assessment determines the appropriate level of care required for treatment. When this assessment is done properly, national data collected from surveys of the treatment system show that 72 percent of these people will complete their prescribed treatment.

Early, effective treatment is key to stopping or reducing the number of repeat DUI offenses, just as an early prescription of antibiotics can reduce the severity of an infection. Repeat offenders (third- and fourth-conviction DUIs), however, are often people suffering from advanced stages of alcoholism, and require more intensive treatment over a longer period of time.

This treatment can be made up of different types of services, including detoxification, inpatient treatment and intense outpatient treatment for up to one year.

Available evidence indicates strongly that such "coerced" treatment does work: More than 50 percent of the repeat offenders treated for up to one year in Louisiana since 2000 have completed their treatment successfully.

Effective collaborations between the criminal justice system and the treatment system are critical to the successful recovery of first-time and repeat DUI offenders. It should also be noted, when addressing a health care issue that has resulted in a criminal act, that punishment alone will not address the problem. We must address alcoholism as a health care issue, while we hold the individual accountable. Even though we are advocates for treatment, at no point do we surrender the need to ensure public safety.

The whole truth and science of alcohol abuse is complex, but the basic parts of it are straightforward: It can lead to personal and social problems, including criminal charges; it can happen to anyone; and there is help for it, even for those who find themselves in and out of the criminal justice system for DUI offenses.

Michael Duffy is assistant secretary for the Office for Addictive Disorders, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.